Igor Smirnov

Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov (23 October 1941-) was President of Transnistria from 2 September 1990 to 25 August 1991 (preceding Andrey Manoylov) and from 1 October 1991 to 30 December 2011 (succeeding Manoylov and preceding Yevgeny Shevchuk).

Biography
Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov was born in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union in 1941. His family later moved to the Ukrainian SSR, and Smirnov joined the Soviet Army and the CPSU in 1963. In 1987, Smirnov became director of an electronics business in Tiraspol, Moldavian SSR, and, in 1989, the union-backed Smirnov became the chairman of the CPSU in Tiraspol. In 1990, he led the formation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian SSR in reaction to Moldova's secession from the USSR, and the PMR secessionists fought against the Moldovan government in the Transnistria War. Smirnov served as President of Transnistria from 1990 to 2011, and, having lost United Russia's backing, he lost the 2011 election.